GRACE LOST HER LIFE BECAUSE SHE 'WOULD NEVER LEAVE A FRIEND'

HEROIC Grace O'Malley-Kumar lost her life to a triple killer because she would never leave a friend, her brother said last night.

- Paul Jeeves

The student, 19, pushed knifeman Valdo Calocane away from her pal Barnaby Webber.

Her brother James, 17, said: "She tried her best to save her friend." After Calocane's manslaughter pleas were accepted yesterday, he added: "Grace's last moments were in pain and that's something that really hurts me to think about...she was a hero, that was her character. She tried her best to save her friend. That was how Grace lost her life in the most vulnerable manner.

"She would never leave a friend, never, and that was very evident from her last moments. She passed fighting." Medical undergraduate Grace had tried to shove Calocane, 32, into the road when he stabbed her fellow Nottingham University student Barnaby, 19, as they walked home from an end-of-term party. They were days away from finishing their first year when Calocane called "The Psycho" by classmates - pounced on history student Barnaby with a double-edged hunting knife.

The friends' mothers wept in court on hearing how Grace stood up to Calocane instead of fleeing. That prompted him to turn his weapon on her but, even once fatally wounded, Grace tried to tackle him again.

Both teenagers died from catastrophic wounds to the chest and abdomen.

Karim Khalil KC, prosecuting, said: "The devastating violence of the attacks was mirrored only by the deliberate and merciless way the defendant acted. As the defendant stabbed Barnaby, inflicting grave injuries which caused him to fall to the floor, Grace demonstrating incredible bravery - sought to protect her friend and fight off the killer, pushing him away and into the road. The defendant quickly turned his attention to her, and the two fought for over 30 seconds, during which time the defendant stabbed her repeatedly.